Once made exclusively from the wool of sheep that roam the Isle of Lew

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Pronouns + Verb Forms + Grammatical Construction + Parallelism + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• Any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.
• If a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction.
• Habitual actions are best conveyed through the simple present tense.

A: The sentence formed by this answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "sometimes from the mainland" and "sometimes they come...from outside Scotland"; remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

B: Correct. This answer choice avoids the pronoun error seen in Option D, as it uses no pronouns. Option B also avoids the verb form error seen in Option E, correctly using the simple present tense verb "are imported" to refer to both habitual actions. Further, Option B correctly uses conjunction ("and" in this case) to join two elements in a list "sometimes from the mainland" and "sometimes...from outside Scotland". Additionally, the sentence formed by Option B maintains parallelism between "sometimes from the mainland" and "sometimes...from outside Scotland". Besides, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the oxford comma ("comma + and") construction to join two elements in a list - "are imported" and "come"; remember, if a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction. Further, Option C redundantly uses "sometimes" alongside "or"; this usage is redundant and awkward, as both terms convey that the wool is at times imported from Scotland and at times from outside Scotland.

D: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "wools" with the singular pronoun "it". Further, the sentence formed by Option D fails to maintain parallelism between "from the mainland sometimes" and "sometimes it comes...from outside Scotland"; remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel. Additionally, Option D redundantly uses "sometimes" alongside "or"; this usage is redundant and awkward, as both terms convey that the wool is at times imported from Scotland and at times from outside Scotland.

E: This answer choice incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "coming" in this sentence) to refer to a habitual action; remember, habitual actions are best conveyed through the simple present tense. Further, Option E redundantly uses "sometimes" alongside "or"; this usage is redundant and awkward, as both terms convey that the wool is at times imported from Scotland and at times from outside Scotland.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

The Question tests the concept of Parallelism.

The parallel structure is sometimes from the mainland and sometimes ...... from outside scotland.

Hence Answer should be B . None other fit the bill

Once made exclusively from the wool of sheep that roam the Isle of Lewis and Harris off the coast of Scotland, Harris tweed is now made only with wools that are imported, sometimes from the mainland and sometimes they come—as a result of a 1996 amendment to the Harris Tweed Act—from outside Scotland.

The striked out part is just the fluff in the sentence now we need to understand .

Meaning : The sentence talks about the Harris Tweed which was once made from wool of sheep of coast of Scotland , but are not imported sometimes from mainland or sometimes from outside.

We need to maintain parallelism here as soon as we see this question i.e. "Sometimes from the mainland and sometimes they come " is toally incorrect this eliminates A , D and E .

Leaves you with B and C .

In C we have that ... which sounds incorrect ?
So leaves us with B as the answer .

"B" is the correct answer, for the reasons stated in regards to parallel structure. As a test tip, when in doubt on a verbal question, go for the most simply structure.

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MentorTutoring VeritasKarishma AjiteshArun

Are below reasons correct to cross out A and C?


The second sometimes must be followed by from to maintain correct ||ism.
There is no issue with pronoun they as it refers to wools.



I feel that are imported and (that) come form correct ||ism but come and imported are redundant.
There is no run-on sentence in C since the independent clause subject verb pair still remains intact as in A and
the new verb: and come forms a part of another verb for subject: that and verb: are imported.
Let me know your thoughts.

Hello, adkikani. I will provide my responses below.


Almost. I would argue that they is completely unnecessary. The phrase already begins with sometimes from the mainland; we already know this is in reference to imported wools. So although I agree that the pronoun refers back to wools, it should not be there to begin with. In short, there is an issue with they, even if the issue does not have to do with meaning.


There is a problem with the way (C) is structured, since this comma + and construct would indicate a second independent clause. But in this sentence, there is no subject for the second independent clause. We need a stand-in such as they from the earlier answer choice or, even better, these, along with another tweak or two. Observe:

Once made exclusively from the wool of sheep that roam the Isle of Lewis and Harris off the coast of Scotland, Harris tweed is now made only with wools that are imported, and these come sometimes from the mainland, sometimes—as a result of a 1996 amendment to the Harris Tweed Act—from outside Scotland.

This comma + and phrase is a grammar trap that pops up somewhat frequently in OG questions. Learn to recognize it and avoid such answer choices. You have to go by what is on the screen.

I hope that helps. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.

- Andrew

Thank you MentorTutoring for your continued support.

I feel really embarrassed to have missed coma while analyzing (C) and here is what I meant:



Stripping off the part between dashes:

Once made exclusively from the wool of sheep
that roam the Isle of Lewis and Harris off the coast of Scotland,
Harris tweed is now made only with wools
that

• are imported (if coma was absent)
• and come sometimes from the mainland or sometimes

from outside Scotland.

This would have been a correct ||el list.
The above part is to ensure my understanding as per your below text:

To reiterate, if I have a coma+and, I need two independent clauses connected by FANBOYS. However two verbs (imported and come) can be connected without a coma to main subject (that in this case).

No need for embarrassment, adkikani. We all make mistakes, even Experts. (I can at least speak for this one.) Yes, without a comma, the conjunction and can be used to connect two nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or even phrases or clauses. Take, for instance, the following sentence:

What he said and what he did were two different things.

Even though each what component is a clause, we are not joining two independent clauses, so it would be inappropriate to place a comma before and. Instead, we understand that there is a compound subject, A and B, with each noun represented by a nominative clause, and that the shell of the sentence is a simple X is Y.

I hope that helps.

- Andrew

Once made exclusively from the wool of sheep that roam the Isle of Lewis and Harris off the coast of Scotland, Harris tweed is now made only with wools that are imported, sometimes from the mainland and sometimes they come—as a result of a 1996 amendment to the Harris Tweed Act—from outside Scotland.

A. sometimes from the mainland and sometimes they come
B. sometimes from the mainland and sometimes
C. and come sometimes from the mainland or sometimes
D. from the mainland sometimes, or sometimes it comes
E. from the mainland sometimes, or sometimes coming

If we compare options,

We have a difference of "and" vs "or" .......... "or" is used to give a choice between two things. Here, there is no choice
Eliminate C, D and E

In A, "sometimes they come..." is not parallel to " sometimes from the mainland".....Eliminate

Hence, B is the correct answer.

This question is based on Parallelism and Structure.

The underlined portion is a phrase that completes the idea begun by the clause “that are imported…” This clause describes the subject “wools”.
The underlined phrase tells us from where the wools are imported - sometimes from the mainland and……

To maintain parallelism, the phrase ‘sometimes from’ must be repeated. Since the preposition ‘from’ is already present after the dash, only the adverb ‘sometimes’ needs to be repeated.

In Option A, the presence of the pronoun ‘they’ and the verb ‘come’ affect parallelism. Since the phrase is part of the clause that is modifying “wools”, the relative pronoun ‘that’ refers to the subject ‘wools’. There is no need for another pronoun to refer to it. So, Option A can be eliminated.

The conjunction ‘and’ in this option changes the structure of the sentence.
As conveyed by this option, the sentence would be as follows:
Once…..Harris tweed is now made only with wools that are imported, and come sometimes from the mainland or sometimes…….from outside Scotland.
The verb ‘come’ would apply to “Harris tweed” and the sentence would imply that Harris tweed comes sometimes from the mainland and sometimes from outside Scotland. Even if we accept that this is possible, the option contains a subject-verb disagreement. To agree with “Harris tweed” as the subject, the singular form of the verb ‘comes’ must be used. However, this option contains the plural form ‘come’. So, Option C can be eliminated.

Option D lacks parallelism. This option also has a pronoun error, since the singular pronoun ‘it’ cannot refer to ‘wools’. So, Option D can also be eliminated.

Option E also lacks parallelism. The participle ‘coming’ makes this option clumsy. So, Option E can also be eliminated.

Option B maintains parallelism - sometimes from the mainland and sometimes from outside Scotland. Therefore, B is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.

Once made exclusively from the wool of sheep that roam the Isle of Lewis and Harris off the coast of Scotland, Harris tweed is now made only with wools that are imported, sometimes from the mainland and sometimes they come—as a result of a 1996 amendment to the Harris Tweed Act—from outside Scotland.

After slash & Burn

Harris tweed is now made only with wools that are imported, sometimes from the mainland and sometimes they come from outside Scotland
Highlighted part is redundant

A. sometimes from the mainland and sometimes they come
B. sometimes from the mainland and sometimes No remarks
C. and come sometimes from the mainland or sometimes change in intended meaning
D. from the mainland sometimes, or sometimes it comes [color=#0000ff]wools is plural[/color]
E. from the mainland sometimes, or sometimes coming parallelism issue

Once made exclusively from the wool of sheep that roam the Isle of Lewis and Harris off the coast of Scotland, Harris tweed is now made only with wools that are imported, sometimes from the mainland and sometimes they come—as a result of a 1996 amendment to the Harris Tweed Act—from outside Scotland.

A. sometimes from the mainland and sometimes they come "sometimes from X" and "sometimes they come" are not parallel. Eliminate.

B. sometimes from the mainland and sometimes Correct answer - parallelism is maintained and no new errors are introduced.

C. and come sometimes from the mainland or sometimes Usage of comma + "and" is not followed by an independent clause since it has no subject. Eliminate.

D. from the mainland sometimes, or sometimes it comes "from the mainland sometimes" and "sometimes it comes" are not parallel. Eliminate.

E. from the mainland sometimes, or sometimes coming Same parallelism error as in (A) and (D). Eliminate.

Hope this helps.

Can help to look and think about what the pronouns are actually replacing - and to read the sentence with those replacements to see if it makes sense.

Hello AndrewN,

Can you please tell me whether the use of ....come SOMETIMES from X OR SOMETIMES from Y... is logical or not in option C?
It seems illogical because the first "sometimes" means there should be another source and "or" makes it optional.
Shouldn't we use "and" instead of "or". Is this an additional error in option C?

Hello, NischalSR. Yes, the sometimes X or [sometimes] Y construct is a trap—and is the appropriate conjunction to outline the different outcomes. Regarding (C), the that clause is restrictive and will almost never be preceded by a comma. You could make a case here that it is used appropriately as the second continuation of the prepositional phrase:

1) with wools that are imported

2) [with wools] that come sometimes from the mainland...

But we are kind of grasping at straws in an effort to qualify an unwieldy construct, not to mention turning a blind eye to the redundancy in imported and that come... from. There should certainly be a better way of expressing the same idea. Remember, the GMAT™ is not concerned with what is necessarily correct in SC, but with what best expresses the vital information that the sentence aims to convey. (B) is a superior choice to (C) in every way.

I hope that addresses your concerns. Thank you for thinking to ask, and good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

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Could anyone please help me to understand why c is incorrect? The explanation below was provided by the manhattan prep gmat navigator, but I could not get the explanation.

Both choices (B) and (C) correctly put the two sources of wool in parallel, but choice (C) includes an additional and at the beginning of the underlined portion. This and means that come is also part of a parallel construction with the other verb describing the wools: the wools are imported, and (the wools) come. This construction is ambiguous because it implies the locations that the wools are imported from are distinct from the locations the wools come from; that meaning is not supported in this case because only one set of locations is provided. Choice (C) is suspect at this point; choose answer (B) over (C) if you are short on time or can’t identify other issues in the sentence.

Thanks in advance!

Here's the (C) version:

Once made exclusively from the wool of sheep that roam the Isle of Lewis and Harris off the coast of Scotland, Harris tweed is now made only with wools that are imported, and come sometimes from the mainland or sometimes—as a result of a 1996 amendment to the Harris Tweed Act—from outside Scotland.

There are two issues with this version.

One is discussed in the explanation you cited, that the use of "and" in "imported, and come" suggests that there are two events, the wools are imported and the wools come. This meaning is illogical, since coming from the mainland and from outside of Scotland is an aspect of the wools' being imported, not a separate event. Notice that the wording of the correct version, "imported, sometimes from the mainland" makes clear that the wools' coming from the mainland is an aspect of their being imported, not a separate event.

The second issue is the use of "or." Notice that "sometimes" means "at times" or "a fraction of the time." So, it does not make sense to say "wools ... come sometimes from the mainland OR ... come sometimes from ... from outside Scotland." By using "or," the sentence implies that one place OR the other is where the wools sometimes come from, as if it's not certain where they sometimes come from, not that wools come from both places, at times from one and at times from the other. The logical meaning is that at SOME times the wool comes from one place AND at SOME other times the wool comes from the other place. So, "and" rather than "or" is required for conveying a meaning that makes sense.